last blogger on the block: Disney Day 5

Ella, Brooklyn and I left the big wide world of Disney on day five and headed to Universal Studios for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Okay, this day was truly amazing! Being the huge Harry Potter fans (or dorks, as Ryan would say) that we are, going to Hogsmead, Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, and riding on the Hogwarts Express were like a dream come true. Everything was done to exact perfection per the books and movies and the details were unreal. The shops, food, treats, Gringotts money... all of it made you feel like you were a real wizard - not just some ruddy Muggle - and ready to head to school at Hogwarts.

The best part, I thought, aside from EVERYTHING, were the spells you could do all around Hogsmead and Diagon Alley using the girls' new wands (equipped with sensors). We started at Olivanders Wand Shop, where Ella was chosen by Olivander for the wand-chosing ceremony. A few hours later, Brooklyn decided she'd like a wand, too, so we went back to Olivanders where she was then chosen by Olivander for another wand-chosing ceremony. That was SUPER lucky since Olivander choses only ONE person in the group of 27.

Once equipped with their new wands, we walked around Hogsmead and Diagon Alley, where, in the shop windows, they had spells you could do to make the displays move. So, for example, a knight's armor had fallen apart and all the pieces were on the floor. The girls waved their wands, said the spell, and made the knight's armor come back together and stand upright again. At another location, they said the spell, waved their wands, and made water shoot out from the water fountain. There were tons of these all over the towns and we spent most of the day locating them all.

We also tried butterbeer ice cream from Floreane Fortescue's Ice Cream shop, bought chocolate frogs at Honeydukes candy shop, exchanged Muggle money for wizard money at Gringotts Bank, ate lunch at The Three Broomsticks, rode the Hogwarts Express four times, and shopped in all of the other famous Harry Potter shops from the books. Oh, and we rode all four rollercoaster rides.

It was hard saying goodbye to all things Harry Potter when it was time for us to leave the park, but I'm already thinking about how we can use those cool wands again in California when we're in Arizona this summer.

Can you tell we're all so giddy... or wait, is it just me?! On our way into Hogsmead, and the start of our Harry Potter adventures...

Sitting in our compartment on the Hogwarts Express heading to Diagon Alley, where, Ella thought, we should begin our journey like Harry did when he first found out he was a wizard...

I was hoping this would lead us to the Ministry of Magic, but alas, it was only a phone booth...

Stan Shunpike, the weird talking head, and the Knight Bus were right outside that famous moving brick wall leading into Diagon Alley...

The famous brick wall leading into Diagon Alley...

Stepping into Diagon Alley must have felt this way for Harry, too!...

Loved all the storefront window displays...

And I loved all the weird-shaped buildings and leaning windows like these at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes...

Anyone know what these cute little fuzzy animals are called? Pigmy Puffs. Rumor has it if you buy one, they have a naming ceremony there in the store. Unfortunately, we spent all our money on wands and had to skip the Pigmy Puffs...

Look at that dragon on Gringotts Bank. Every so often, the dragon breathes out fire and scares the pants right off of you. The ride inside, called Escape from Gringotts, I think, was so much fun..

Despite the lack of lighting at Olivanders, I was able to get this picture of Ella during her choosing ceremony. So, Olivander would pick a wand from the shelf, give it to Ella/Brooklyn and have her perform a spell. The first two wands made crazy things in the shop happen, like all the bells start ringing like crazy, or the lights start flickering, or the shelves fall down. On the last wand, he would hand it to her and all of a sudden the wind would blow and the lights would go on. That's how the wand chose the wizard...

Gringotts was done to perfection so that waiting in line was actually fun. Looking around and seeing all the animation and detail made me want to throw another Harry Potter birthday party...

Getting ready to board the Hogwarts Express in our matching Hogwarts t-shirts...

Ella performing a spell to make the chocolate frog jump out of the candy box at the Honeydukes candy shop window...

And there's Hogwarts in all her glory. The ride there made us all sick. One and done on that ride for me, but it was amazing - if you have the stomach for it...